1990 Comanche Eliminator

[pizzaman09]

I've been working on stopping the leak in my driver's side vent window.  I found that stuffing the original seal with some soft foam weather stripping does a great job at keeping it sealed but there was one area at the front corner that still leaked due to the step at the end of the metal mount

 

This is the before image.  The packaging tape is there to allow me to prevent RTV from getting stuck to that part of the window.

 

I used some 90min rtv, this is some impressive stuff.  I tried to find something it wouldn't bond to and I was unsuccessful.  I tried car wax and silicone oil, both allowed it to bond right through.

 

Globed the rtv all over the corner.

 

Cut the curred rtv to shape with a sharp blade.

 

Final seal, no more gap against the squishy foam I have stuff in the seam.

 

 

I quite like the vent windows so to me if I can stop the leaks, I'd like to keep them.  Lucky for the truck, it found a spot in the barn this year so it doesn't have to spend all winter in the driveway covered in snow.

[Salvagedcircuit]

Neat solution! nice job.

[pizzaman09]

Another item checked off the list today was installing a new parking brake cable from the pedal to the splitter.  It appears a year and a half ago when I purchased the cable I got a long bed cable instead of a short bed cable.  Other than having to move the rubber grommet down the cable 6 inches everything went smoothly.  There is just a bit extra of an S bend to the cable under the driver's seat.

[Pete M]

great idea!

[pizzaman09]

Replaced all of the seals in the power steering pump and the low pressure return line.  All of the seals were square from compression set, one crumbled upon removal and the bearing was a bit worn feeling.

There sure are many parts to one of these pumps but luckily there is a ton on info on the Saginaw pump.

A significant degreasing occurred to get rid of 34 years of gunk.

More or less reassembled, only challenge I faced was removing the backing plate.  I wapped it with a hammer many times to loosened it from its seal then pushed the shaft from the pulley side with a small arbor press to pop it out.

I highly recommend renting a power steering pump pulley puller and install tool from your local auto parts store.  The process of removal and install went smoothly.

I was very surprised when I got it running that the steering is smoother!  It was pretty smooth to begin with and now it's silky smooth to turn.

 

The full seal and bearing kit cost me $11 on Rock Auto.  It had every seal and the bearing.  It was good use of this frigid 15 degree day we are having.

[Salvagedcircuit]

2 hours ago, pizzaman09 said:

Replaced all of the seals in the power steering pump and the low pressure return line.  All of the seals were square from compression set, one crumbled upon removal and the bearing was a bit worn feeling.

There sure are many parts to one of these pumps but luckily there is a ton on info on the Saginaw pump.

A significant degreasing occurred to get rid of 34 years of gunk.

More or less reassembled, only challenge I faced was removing the backing plate.  I wapped it with a hammer many times to loosened it from its seal then pushed the shaft from the pulley side with a small arbor press to pop it out.

I highly recommend renting a power steering pump pulley puller and install tool from your local auto parts store.  The process of removal and install went smoothly.

I was very surprised when I got it running that the steering is smoother!  It was pretty smooth to begin with and now it's silky smooth to turn.

 

The full seal and bearing kit cost me $11 on Rock Auto.  It had every seal and the bearing.  It was good use of this frigid 15 degree day we are having.

 

Excellent work!

My PS cap was completely broken when I got my MJ. I replaced it and I noticed it was was wet every time I used the jeep. it was strange. I was thinking of rebuilding my power steering pump, but it seemed too daunting of a task so I decided to just flush it out. I used (3) bottles of power steering fluid and it has not bubbled up or left a wet cap since. Part of me still wants to rebuild it, because it can probably use it, but it's certainly nice to know that it's do-able

[pizzaman09]

29 minutes ago, Salvagedcircuit said:

 

Excellent work!

My PS cap was completely broken when I got my MJ. I replaced it and I noticed it was was wet every time I used the jeep. it was strange. I was thinking of rebuilding my power steering pump, but it seemed too daunting of a task so I decided to just flush it out. I used (3) bottles of power steering fluid and it has not bubbled up or left a wet cap since. Part of me still wants to rebuild it, because it can probably use it, but it's certainly nice to know that it's do-able

Honestly it wasn't as scary as I figured it would be, I just took my time and didn't rush.  Only thing I did not do was take apart the spool valve, but I did throw a bunch of brake clean through it.  Additionally I pre-gamed the whole activity by tearing down and rebuilding a harbor freight brake vacuum to pull the fluid out of the tank.

 

I could see how getting fresh fluid in the system would help, I need to flush mine yet, when I added fluid to the system a bunch of red junk came through when bleeding.

[Salvagedcircuit]

This is the stuff I used for my power steering fluid. Valvoline 602241. It cross referenced to the original gm fluid for the Saginaw box. You can get it at any auto parts store. It's red in color.

[pizzaman09]

22 hours ago, Salvagedcircuit said:

This is the stuff I used for my power steering fluid. Valvoline 602241. It cross referenced to the original gm fluid for the Saginaw box. You can get it at any auto parts store. It's red in color.

Good stuff, I shall have to consider fully flushing it when it's a reasonable temperature outside.

[pizzaman09]

Today's project was the transfer case output seal as a continuation of my crusade against all leaks from the Jeep whether fluid or wind or vacuum.

 

Old one was clearly leaking

 

I found it tricky to get the old one out, ended up clamping on the flange with some vice grips and hitting the vice grips on the jaw with a hammer towards the back of the truck.  Roughly like what I show in the photo below.

 

The old seal was very worn, about 1/16" inside diameter larger compared to the new seal.

 

The transfer case also received some fresh ATF.

[Salvagedcircuit]

Nice work! I should check mine. I think mine is a bit wet back there...

[pizzaman09]

19 hours ago, Salvagedcircuit said:

Nice work! I should check mine. I think mine is a bit wet back there...

You should!  Having never done it before, I was able to do it in just over an hour laying on the ground on a 40 deg F day.

[pizzaman09]

Completed installing new window run seals on both doors.  It is definitely quieter at speed than it was before, but not without wind noise at 65 mph.  The lack of window rattle is nice.

[pizzaman09]

Tackled the oil filter adapter seals today.  The seals were probably original, I've never come across o-rings that were so hardened by oil.

I used this o-rings kit, it worked perfectly.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-automotive/oil-filter-adapter-o-ring-kit-jeep-cherokee-xj-and-comanche-mj-40l-engine

[pizzaman09]

Just some random pics, got it pretty muddy working in the field, mud season is my least favorite time.

[89 MJ]

Cleaning up mud is the worst. I don’t even like driving my truck in the rain because the underside gets all dirty. 

[pizzaman09]

Added a hidden trailer connector block under/behind the bumper.  The flat 4 pin that was wired into the truck was so long that if it fell from the place it was nestled in the rear bumper, it would drag on the ground.

 

I may eventually add trailer brakes, currently running lights, turn signals and reverse lights are wired in.

[pizzaman09]

Had a good sunset this evening.

[89 MJ]

Beautiful! 

[pizzaman09]

Fixed up the driver's door hinges to get the sagging door righted.  It was a challenge.  The roll pins were predictably stuck in the hinges.  A Dremel with a cut off disc at each end of the pin got it apart.

 

After disassembly I found that the roll pins were not worn out but actually the hinge holes were on the part welded to the body.  To fix that I filled the holes with JB weld and the areas that were cut on the top and bottom by the Dremel.

 

Filled the top and bottom of the hinge center section to height.

 

And drill out the holes, carefully stepping up and finally using a ream by hand to finish them.  Everything got a coat of black paint too, none of this I took photos of.

 

Replaced the broken door holder opener thing.

 

With a new bumper style one

 

The threaded studs on the new one were a bit closer together but it just fit putting it in the door.

 

After about an hour of alignment exercises I did get it aligned well enough.  It still takes a good slam to overcome the seal.  So far the results are awesome, less wind noise and I expect less water seeping in making the floor wet.

[89 MJ]

Any chance you could put that in the DIY tech section? That’s a good solution to saggy hinges. 

[pizzaman09]

1 hour ago, 89 MJ said:

Any chance you could put that in the DIY tech section? That’s a good solution to saggy hinges. 

Will do!

[89 MJ]

54 minutes ago, pizzaman09 said:

Will do!

I saw it, thank you!

[pizzaman09]

Pulling fence posts out at the property.  Low range 4x4 is fantastic.

[Salvagedcircuit]

Awesome photos